Synthesis of Aryl/Heteroaryl Amides via Nitriles Hydration

Amides are extremely important compounds and have a number of applications as therapeutics, diagnostics, agrochemicals and materials. Although there are countless methods to synthesize amides, their preparation in large scale using environmentally and economically viable protocols still presents unsoved challenges. The hydration of nitriles potentially represents one of the most attractive methods to prepare amides; however, the conditions required for achieving this transformation are often impractical or drastic. Recently, the group of Professor Mitsuhiro Yoshimatsu from Gifu University (Japan) reported a new strategy for performing this type of reaction.

Professor Yoshimatsu said: “Although a copper iodide/cesium carbonate/1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene/nitromethane catalytic system was previously discovered in our study of the aza-Henry reaction of nitriles with nitromethane, the work presents the convenient and chemoselective nitrile hydration of aryl and heteroaryl nitriles using the same catalyst in the presence of water.”